The Senior Bowl

The 49ers will coach their third straight Senior Bowl in Mobile the team announced late Friday. The very fact the team gets an opportunity to coach this college All-Star game means they’re coming off another subpar season (Senior Bowl officials offer the game to the worst teams first).

One scout said he didn’t like the staff shipping out for Mobile yearly only to watch position coaches get giddy about prospects performing their practice drills to near perfection. Meanwhile, the scouts find that those same players might not look so good on film.

Do the 49ers depend too much on their Senior Bowl evaluations? Does it blind them to other prospects?

The only way to find out is to assess how the 49ers have done is to evaluate their Senior Bowl haul. Here’s a look at this past year’s group:

1. LB Patrick Willis – An outstanding pick, led the league in tackles, was named Defensive Rookie of the Year, and is the first 49ers rookie going to the Pro Bowl since Ronnie Lott in 1981. He’s already one of the best linebackers in the league.

2. T Joe Staley – In a questionable move, the 49ers swapped this year’s number one pick to New England to move up to get Staley. The 49ers would have had the seventh choice overall based on their 5-11 record, but they do own the Colts first-round choice. Nevertheless, Staley had the potential to match his size, even though he had an uneven rookie year. New general manager Scot McCloughan said if he had the chance to make the same deal, “I’d do it in a heart beat.”

3. DE Ray McDonald – Played most of the year with little impact until the team’s late-season win against Tampa Bay, when McDonald pressured the quarterback and recorded his first sack (Note: These three players were on the South squad, coached by the 49ers’ staff).

4. WR Jason Hill – Injuries held back the speedster this year.

5. OLB Jay Moore – Placed on injured reserve before the season started.

2. CB Marcus Hudson – The team’s dime back and special teams player – a good pick for the 6th round.

3. LB Parys Haralson – Workman-like player who’s good against the run, but needs to improve his pass-rush skills – a fairly good choice for the 5th round.

4. RB Michael Robinson – Led one of the best coverage units in the league in special teams’ tackles, and has slash potential as a runner, passer and receiver – an excellent 4th-round choice.

Interestingly, the coaching staffs (Tennessee and Tampa Bay) that opposed the 49ers the last two seasons, didn’t take nearly as many players from the Senior Bowl. Those staffs not only coached their North squads to wins, but the Titans and Buccaneers are in the playoffs this year.

Here’s a look at the players the Titans and Bucs took from the Senior Bowls in which they coached:

Buccaneers in 2007:

1. Arron Sears – Starting guard on a team that finished 9th in rushing. Drafted in the second round.